JYP Entertainment is overhauling protocol for overseas activities following a recent scandal involving Chou Tzuyu, a 16-year-old member of rookie girl group TWICE.
The decision to change promotional tactics is the result of an incident where Tzuyu became the center of international controversy after she was depicted with the Taiwanese flag during a broadcast of the Korean TV show "My Little Television."
On Jan. 19, the company announced revisions to its strategy as an agency whose goal is expansion into the Chinese market through Hallyu (a phenomenon also called the Korean Wave), where pop music is utilized as a soft-power export.
"We have several foreign members in our K-pop bands and we plan to make a new system to thoroughly study sensitivity issues, such as political conflicts between countries," said a spokesperson for JYP, in a phone statement obtained by The Korea Times.
The representative went on to emphasize the significance of the implementation of cultural sensitivity training, which will extend beyond its celebrities, becoming a component in support staff training modules.
"It will not only apply to K-pop stars but all staff members in the company," said the JYP representative.
The tactical change for Chinese promotions follows the position that JYP Entertainment did not force Tzuyu to deliver a statement where she expressed her remorse over the situation while claiming support for "one-China" or the unification of Chinese-speaking territories like Taiwan, under the governance of mainland China.
"I'm sorry, there is only one-China," said Tzuyu, in the video footage. "Taiwan and China are part of the same country."
The statement was ill-received by Taiwanese citizens, who were already following the story which also coincided with the recent presidential election where Tsai In Wen, a supporter of Taiwanese independence, defeated a Beijing-sympathizer.
"In Taiwan, online commentators compared her apology to hostage videos released by the Islamic State, although it was probably more reminiscent of the sort of humiliating confessions that dissidents are increasingly forced to make on Chinese state television," said Simon Denyer, the China bureau chief for The Washington Post, in an article harshly criticizing the video.
Her videotaped apology received global attention through mainstream media ranging from ABC News to Slate, prompting accusations that the methodology used to prompt her response and her distressed appearance in the footage could be considered a human rights violation.
JYP Entertainment maintained the position that she was not coerced into speaking on-camera.
"A company forcing its beliefs or ideas on an individual cannot be done, should not be done, and was not done," said a spokesperson for JYP, in a statement translated by the Korea Herald. "The announcement by Tzuyu was out of her own will as a result of continuous consultation with her parents."
Human rights supporters are outraged over her apology.
According to a report published by The Korea Times on January 18, The Center for a Multicultural Korea, human rights watch group, is contemplating legal action against JYP Entertainment and Park Jin Young.
"It is very natural for Tzuyu to wave the national flag of her country," said a spokesperson for the Center of a Multicultural Korea. "But JYP Entertainment and its head, Park Jin Young, forced her to apologize succumbing to the overreaction of Chinese fans."
The organization expressed its intent to examine the footage and circumstances under which it was taped.
"This week, we'll request the National Human Rights Commission to investigate whether she was coerced to apologize," said a representative for the civil rights group. "If it concludes this is the case, we'll file a complaint with the prosecution against JYP [Entertainment] and Park [Jin Young]."
The scandal could have long-term financial implications for JYP, which is considered to be one of the top three K-pop agencies, including SM and YG Entertainment.
Prior to the apology issued by Tzuyu, stocks for JYP dropped.
According to an article published by the Korea Herald on January 18, the agency experienced a drop in stocks that approached $3.30 USD or 4,000 KRW.
Taiwanese Mandopop star, Show Luo, lost more than 40,000 Facebook followers after speaking about "one-China," following the scandal.
The controversy extended beyond Korean entertainment, negatively impacting Taiwanese Mandopop Show Luo, who spoke in support of "one-China," during a recent Beijing film premiere.
"There's no need for such division, we're all Chinese," said Luo, when asked if he had reservations about working with artists from the mainland.
Shanghaiist reported on the backlash experienced by the star who lost 40,000 Facebook fans after an anti-group posted the footage.
However, his statement was well-received by mainland Chinese supporters, leading to an increase of 50,000 Weibo followers.
Huang An, the musician who started the controversy, has since removed all of his Weibo posts.
Tzuyu's flag incident was initially brought to public consciousness by Chinese musician Huang An, an artist referred to by western media as Michael Huang.
Huang initially sparked the controversy through his inflammatory Weibo posts which accused Tzuyu of nationalism, has since deleted the messages.
According to a report published on January 20 by Chosun, the 53-year-old entertainer removed all posts from the mainland-based microblogging platform, citing his privacy as the primary factor for his rejection of the social media tool.
"Netizens discovered the comments and now you have removed your own posts," said a reporter for the Hong Kong media outlet, Phoenix, as quoted by Chosun.
Huang deleted approximately 4,900 posts, which were written since he established an account with Weibo, in June 2014.
